Vehicle passengers frequently need a convenient place to both store and charge their smart phones and other mobile devices. Although many automotive designs offer limited storage places, including one-handed blind storage options, there is still the need in automobiles to provide options for phones to be simply stored, readily accessible, quickly charged, and easily seen when it is time to leave the vehicle. Storage and charging options for phones in a vehicle are made more complicated by the need for various sizes and form factors, including their cases, for all the varieties of mobile electronic devices. Additional complications are introduced when considering the wide variety of charging options for mobile devices. For example, there exists numerous different types of charging connections such as USB plugs, micro-USB plugs, USB-C plugs, and Lightning plugs that can be used to accommodate the various mobile devices. In addition, some mobile devices have the option to be recharged wirelessly using inductive charging.
The ability to provide drivers and passengers of vehicles the options they need to both protect and charge their mobile devices is in high demand for automobile manufacturers.